More about AI

 

 

I wrote about AI (Artificial Intelligence) in a previous article – Jan. 24, 2024, but I failed to mention one of the biggest fears about AI – that it will take our jobs. Assembly line, construction, transportation, and all sorts of service jobs are the most obvious, but jobs requiring organization and decision making could be eliminated too, or at least facilitated by AI enhanced computers. 

The advocates of AI downplay this fear by saying, ‘Don’t worry. AI may eliminate some jobs, but it will create others.' They said the same thing about the assembly line. And that’s true. A hundred years ago, most people had their own farm, made their own clothes, and from what I can gather from listening to my grandmother, who was born in 1877, they had more free time than we do now. We no longer have to grow our own food, but there are still plenty of jobs to go around. 

I’m not sure AI will create enough jobs to replace those it eliminates, but what if it does? What’s wrong with that? I wouldn’t mind working two days a week instead of six, or even having the option of not working at all. If all or most of our needs can be met by AI and automation, why insist on having a job for everyone? 

Back in the 60’s I read a book, Nine Chains to the Moon, by futurist and inventor, Buckminster Fuller. In his book, written in 1938, he viewed advances in technology positively. He contended that there were already enough resources to comfortably support the world’s population. He observed that there was already enough space in buildings to house the homeless, and enough food to feed the hungry. His goal was to apply science to solving the world’s problems, to “do more with less.” He supported improvements in housing and transportation. He advocated for recycling and the use of renewable energy sources. He said competition was no longer necessary, that our survival depended on cooperation, and government benefits needed to include everyone. It seems to me that Fuller’s ideas are just as relevant now as they were in 1938, and AI is just another tool that can be used to improve living standards and solve the world’s problems.  

So why are we worried about losing jobs instead of being grateful that in the future we won’t have to work as much? One of the problems is our culture. Our culture is built around work. Our status, our wealth, our options in life depend on our success in our jobs. Doctors and lawyers and business executives are wealthier and more respected. Even if we don’t have more prestigious jobs, we still earn more respect if we work hard. Work, success and wealth have become  ends in themselves. 

But what is the result of this culture? Most men spend most of their time away from their families, and most women are so burdened with child care and housework they have little time to pursue their interests. Children are influenced mainly by strangers and don’t develop strong family ties. According to my wise cousin, it’s hard to be a good business man and also a good person. I think Jesus said something like that too, something about a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle. 

But what about terrorists and dictators, you say? What about global warming and the population explosion? I think Buckminster Fuller had the answer eighty-six  years ago. We need cooperation between individuals, political parties, nations. We need to use science to solve problems, and we need to share any solutions with everyone, not just limit the benefits to the wealthy, or to those who happen to be born in a prosperous country. If we don’t make those changes, AI won’t make this a better world any more than the assembly line did. People will lose their jobs; the homeless population will continue to grow; poor countries will continue to produce terrorists, and dictators will use technology to make themselves more powerful.